Clothes guard for washing machines



Juiy H, E A. KETTER CLOTHES GUARD FOR WASHING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Sept.

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y 11, 1967 L. A. KETTER CLOTHES GUARD FOR WASHING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Filed Sept.

United States Patent 3,330,137 CLOTHES GUARD FOR WASHING MACHINES Lyndal A. Ketter, Herrin, Ill., assignor to Borg-Warner Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Sept. 9, 1965, Ser. No. 486,002 3 Claims. (Cl. 68-23) This invention relates to clothes guards for automatic washers of the type utilizing a receptacle adapted to contain clothes for Washing and rinsing purposes and being rotatable to centrifugally extract water from the clothes to partially dry the clothes.

Automatic washers of the type described embody controls for causing operation of the washer to provide washing, centrifugal extraction, and rinsing cycles. During the clothes washing cycle, the clothes are immersed in wash water in an imperforate receptacle or basket and moved through the water by an agitator driven by the washer mechanism. In the extraction cycle, the wash water is evacuated from the basket by rapidly rotating or spinning the basket to extract the water from the clothes by centrifugal force, the wash water moving up an inclined side wall of the basket and over the top of the basket into a container where the water may be pumped to a drain. In the subsequent rinsing cycle, the clothes are subjected to several rinsing operations usually including deep-rinsing in which rinse water is agitated and caused to overflow the basket, carrying with it scum, sediment, and detergent liquid, this rinsing operation being followed by an agitation rinse period without overflow. The washing operation is concluded by spinning the basket to extract rinse water from the colthes to partially dry the clothes.

In the operation of the agitator during the clothes washing and rinsing cycles, it is possible that articles of clothing have loose ends thereof which creep up and over the rim of the basket and protrude from the tub so that, upon rotation of the basket during the extraction cycle, the articles of clothing, may be ejected, with the water, from the basket by centrifugal force and into the container.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved clothes guard adapted to be mounted on a clothes-containing basket of a washer and operative to return articles of clothing, protruding from the basket, into the basket, during the washing and rinsing cycles.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved clothes guard readily attachable to the rim of the clothes-receiving basket of a washer and effective to move portions of clothing, projecting above the basket, into the basket, during operation of the agitator.

A specific object of the invention is to provide an improved annular clothes guard for a washer and attachable to the top of the basket, the guard being provided with a wavy formation on, and undulating circumferentially of, a radially inwardly extending area adapted to cnotact portions of clothing brought in proximity thereto, and which may extend over the guard, by the oscillating washing action of the clothes and water in the basket by operation of the agitator, and to return such portions of the clothes to the basket.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectonal view of a typical washing machine embodying the novel clothes guard;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the Washer basket and clothes guard shown in FIG. 1, portions of the basket and guard being broken away to more clearly illustrate the construction thereof;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the washer basket and clothes guard shown in FIG. 2 and illustrating the clothes guard attachment to the basket; and

Patented July 11, 1967 FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the clothes guard shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The drawings are to be understood to be more or less of a schematic chaarcter for the purpose of illustrating and disclosing a typical or preferred form of the improvements contemplated herein and in the drawings like reference characters identify the same parts in the several views.

Referring to the drawing, the clothes guard with which the present invention is particularly concerned is designated in its entirety by the numeral 10 and is shown, for purposse of illustration, incorporated in a washing machine of the type shown and described in U.S. Patent 2,807,951 issued Oct. 1, 1957. The washing machine generally comprises a cabinet A; a basket B of the centrifugal extracting type; an agitator C operatively disposed within the basket B; a transmission D, the housing of which forms a part of and is carried by the basket B for rotation therewith when the basket is rotated for centrifugal water extraction operations, the transmission also being adapted to impart an oscillatory motion to a shaft a and thereby to the agitator C; a reversible electric motor (not shown) connected to the transmission D; a fluid container or tub E receiving the basket B; and a sequential control M as disclosed in U.S. Patent 2,994,749 issued Aug. 1, 1961 and which is adapted to regulate the operation of the various elements in proper sequence to perform the operations involving filling, washing, rinsing and water extraction.

In FIG. 1, there is illustrated the cabinet A which houses the entire mechanism and control system therefor and which comprises a top panel 11, a front panel 12, side panels, and a rear panel 14. A control panel 15 forms a part of and projects upwardly from the top panel 11.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the top panel 11 is provided with a hinged lid 16 to form a closure member for an opening 17 through which clothes or other articles to be cleansed may be introduced to the machine. The hinged lid 16 is so disposed with respect to the opening 17 that it will be flush with the surface of the top panel 11 when it is in its closed position. One or more metal straps 18 pivotally disposed in mountings secured to the underside of the cover 11 serve to provide a hinged mounting for the lid 16 with respect to the cover 11.

The control panel 15 has a knob 20 providing means for manually operating the sequential control M. The length of the washing cycle may be predetermined and set within certain limitations by the manual adjustment of the control knob 20, as described in the aforesaid U.S. Patent 2,994,749.

Disposed within the cabinet A is a water tight outer tub or container E terminating in an open top 24 providing an annular opening, the periphery of which is disposed within the confines of the cabinet top panel 11 and the peripheral edge of which is provided with an annular shaped seal 25 adapted to engage portions of the inside surface of the cover in order to prevent water from splashing out of the tub and between the outer surface of the tub and the interior of the cabinet A.

Disposed within the tub E and arranged for relative rotation therebetween and spaced from the Wall 23 of the tub, is the basket B. As will best be seen in FIG. 1, the basket B comprises an imperforate bottom wall 27 having an annular offset at 28 projecting inwardly of the tub and terminating in an annular inwardly projecting flange 29 connected to and adapted to be driven by the transmission D during the water extraction cycle of the machine.

Integrally formed with the top panel of the cabinet A and projecting inwardly thereof substantially coaxially with the geometrical axis of rotation of the basket B, there is provided an annular flange 30 adapted to present a relatively smooth surface to define a throat through which the fabrics and other materials to be washed may be introduced to the basket B without danger of the fingers of the operator being injured or caught between the adjacent operating parts of the washer.

The top of the basket B is provided with a throat assembly 31 comprising an annular flange 32 defining an annular opening forming a continuation of the aforementioned throat 30for the purpose of directing the passage of the clothes or other material to be washed into the tub and basket B to perform washing actions thereon. It is to be noted the annular flange 32 is formed so that portions thereof project downwardly within the confines of the basket B and terminate in a horizontal wall 33 extending radially outward to merge with an integral vertical wall 34 to form, with the flange 32 and wall 33, an annular pocket 35 for cement providing a balance ring 36 for the basket during rotation thereof.in the water extraction cycle of the washer.

The throat assembly 31 may be suitably supported by any convenient means to the top portion of the wall 37 of the basket by connecting the wall 34 at spaced intervals, as at 38 to the basket and to form therebetween a series of passages 39 through which Water may pass into the tub 21 as indicated for retention or removal therefrom.

The balance ring 36 has its top surface 40 inclined radially inwardly and downwardly from the upper ends of the passages 39 to cause water, flowing up the passages during the agitation cycle-of the washer and contacting the inwardly slanting water-diverting upper end 41 of the basket wall, to be directed into and through openings 42 in the wall 32. This arrangement is advantageous in preventing loss of water from the tub during agitation.

In operation, the rotation of the basket B at extremely high speeds during the extraction operation will cause the centrifugal forces to move the mass of water outwardly from the geometrical center of rotation and, by virtue of the inclined upstanding annular wall 37 of the basket B, the water will flow upwardly through the passages 39, defined by the wall 37 and wall 34, to be discharged into the tub E for disposal by a pump (not shown) to a drain.

In the operation of the washing machine described, clothes'or other articles to be laundered are inserted into the basket B of the washing machine, and soap or a detergent may be poured onto the clothes in the machine. The timer mechanism M is set in operation to perform the various sequential operations of the cycle. Initiating the washer operation, the basket B is -filled for a predetermined time period with a suificient quantity ofwater varying with the amount and kind of clothes to be \washed, the conventional washing operation requiring that the basket be filled with water to the level indicated in FIG. 1 adjacent the top of the basket. Thereafter, a motor (not shown) becomes operative to cause the transmission D to oscillate the, agitator C to perform its washing function upon the clothes for a certain period of time. Upon the conclusion of the allotted time for the washing of the clothes by agitation, the timer mechanism becomes operative to stop the motor and reverse the direction of rotation of the motor to cause the transmission D to rotate the basket B for water-extracting operations. In this operfrom the geometrical center of rotation and, by virtue of the inclined annular wall 37 of the basket, the water tends to flow upwardly through the passages 39 and is discharged into the outer water-collecting container or tub E for disposal. The pump operates in two directions of rotation so that it rotates in one direction during operation of the agitator and rotates in the opposite direction during the extracting operation. After the water-extraction spin operation, the timer M is effective to provide a spin rinse of warm water whichis effective to remove extraneous scum and detergent fluid remaining in thebasket after the first water-extraction spin operation has been completed. Subsequently, the .motor stops spinning the 'water fills the basket and overflows to the tub E for disposal by the pump. Subsequently, an agitated rinse period, without overflow, is provided and the motor is then reversed for the purpose of spinning basket B to extract water from the clothes. The washing operation 'is concluded by a spin rinse followed by water extraction. 7

During the above-described washing operation, orduring the overflow rinse operation and the subsequent ex-' traction operation, articles of clothing, such as socks,

handkerchiefs, and undergarments, may float over the top edge of the flange 32 of the basket B and into the tub B so that the drain may become clogged by the article, thereby preventing removal of the water in the outer tub by the pump.

To prevent the escape of articles of clothing from the a basket B, the clothes guard is provided to preclude movement of the articles over the rim of the basket B into the tub E. For this purpose, the clothes guard 10 may be in the form of a flexible ring 43 adapted to be detachably mounted on an outwardly directed and rolled-over rim 44 of the annular flange 32 of the throat assembly 31 of the basket B. More particularly, the clothes guard may be formed to provide an annular groove 45"adapted to receive and enclose the rim 44 of the-flange 32. The flexible ring may be formed to provide a series of horizontally extending saw-toothed corrugations or serrations 46'on an inclined surface thereof facing inwardly toward the water in the basket.

The clothes guard or ring is preferably formed of rubber, or other suitable resilient material, and having a' diameter permitting expansion of the ring to encompass the rim 44 of the basket and to dispose the rim 44 within the groove in the guard. It will be noted that the serrated portion 46 of the guard extends and projects toward the axis of rotation of the basket to efiectively come into contact with and restrain upward movement of articles of clothing in the basket and over the rim 44 into the tub, particularly'during" the water extraction cycle of operation.

A clothes guard having a serrated portion for the purpose described is disclosed in U.S. Patent 2,966,501 issued Dec. 27, 1960 to A. H. Gerhardt.

This serrated portion oflthe clothes guard has proven generally effective to prevent clothes escaping from the basket and to confine the clothes within the basket during the water-extraction cycles of the washer. However, under certain conditions, the clothes guard may be ineifective to prevent articles of clothing from being spun out of the basket and into the tub during the water-extraction operation. In explanation, during the washing operation when the basket is prevented from rotation and the agitator is operative, the agitator causes the clothes, immersed in the water, to circulate in the basket during each stroke of the agitator. It has been discovered that loose portions or ends of the clothes, such as shirt sleeves, work up and project above the basket and then extend over the clothes guard shown and described in U.S. Patent 2,966,501, .and such clothes may be ejected from the basket by centrifugal force and into the tub during the water-extraction operation.

' The feature of the clothes guard defining the present in-.

purpose, the clothes guard 10 is provided with radially inwardly extending arcuate projections or peaks 50 defining spaced arcuate valleys 51 so that the resultant wavy or sinuous formation, providing a surface continuously and uniformly undulating circumferentially of the guard and forming the inner periphery of the guard, is eifective to return the loose ends of the clothing back into the basket during the agitation periods of the washer. More particularly, during these agitation periods, the basket B and clothes guard remain stationary and the clothes circulate in the basket with each stroke of the agitator. Loose ends of the clothing work up or are flung, by the washing movement of the clothes and water in the basket by the agitator, over the clothes guard onto the wavy inner periphery of the guard. Because the major portion of the clothing, by its own weight and other clothes surrounding it, is held in the basket, the revolving reciprocating movement of the agitator causes the agitator to pull the protruding clothing toward and into the arcuate valleys 51 thereby causing the loose ends of the protruding clothing to be moved downwardly back into the basket. Accordingly, the clothes guard is effective to return portions of the clothes extending over the top of the basket during operation of the agitator in the Washing and rinsing periods and to thereby insure the clothing being confined in the basket during the subsequent waterextraction operations.

The invention is not particularly concerned with the precise construction of the automatic washing machine hereinbefore described generally, but is equally applicable to any type of washing machine embodying an inner clothes-receiving perforate or imperforate basket and an outer tub and, accordingly, the invention is not to be limited to the construction of the washing machine elements as set forth above, except where such construction particularly concerns the invention contemplated.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, many modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and the invention is not to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but to all changes coming within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a clothes washing machine, a container; a basket within said container and having an annular rim defining an open clothes-receiving top thereof; an agitator in said basket and movable relative to said basket; drive means for operating said agitator and thereby effecting a washing movement to the clothes and water in said basket; the improvement residing in a clothes guard on said rim and having a radially inner peripheral edge provided with a sinuous surface continuously undulating circumferentially of said rim and defining serially connected arcuate peaks and arcuate valleys engageable with portions of said clothes projected above and over said guard by said washing movement of said clothes and water by said agitator and operable, upon Washing movement of said clothes and water in said basket by said agitator, to effect movement of said clothes portions downwardly into said basket.

2. In a clothes Washing machine, a container; a basket within said container and having an annular rim defining an open clothes-receiving top thereof; an agitator in and extending above said basket and movable relative to said basket; drive means for said agitator and operable to provide reciprocatory rotary movement of said agitator and thereby similar washing movement to the clothes and water in said 'basket; the improvement residing in a clothes guard having a radially inner peripheral sinuous surface provided with circumferentially spaced arcuately curved peaks and arcuately curved valleys engageable with portions of said clothes projected above and over said ring by said washing movement of said clothes and water by said agitator and operable, upon pulling movement of said clothes portions into said valleys by washing movement of said clothes and water in said basket by said agitator, to effect movement of said clothes portions downwardly into said basket.

3. In a clothes washing machine, a container; a basket within said container and having an annular rim defining an open clothes-receiving top thereof; an agitator in said basket and movable relative to said basket; drive means for said agitator and operable to provide reciprocatory rotary movement of said agitator and thereby similar washing movement to the clothes and water in said basket; the improvement residing in a flexible guard ring surrounding and resiliently gripping said rim and having a radially inner peripheral edge provided with a sinuous surface continuously and uniformly undulating circumferentially of said ring and defining serially connected arcuate peaks and arcuate valleys engageable with portions of said clothes projected above and over said ring by said washing movement of said clothes and water by said agitator and operable, upon pulling movement of said clothes portions into said valleys exerted by washing movement of said clothes and water in said basket by said agitator, to effect movement of said clothes portions downwardly into said basket.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,966,051 12/1960 Gerhardt 6823 3,013,424 12/1961 Sophiea 68-194 X WILLIAM 1. PRICE, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE, A CONTAINER; A BASKET WITHIN SAID CONTAINER AND HAVING AN ANNULAR RIM DEFINING AN OPEN CLOTHES-RECEIVING TOP THEREOF; AN AGITATOR IN SAID BASKET AND MOVABLE RELATIVE TO SAID BASKET; DRIVE MEANS FOR OPERATING SAID AGITATOR AND THEREBY EFFECTING A WASHING MOVEMENT TO THE CLOTHES AND WATER IN SAID BASKET; THE IMPROVEMENT RESIDING IN A CLOTHES GUARD ON SAID RIM AND HAVING A RADIALLY INNER PERIPHERAL EDGE PROVIDED WITH A SINUOUS SURFACE CONTINUOUSLY UNDULATING CIRCUMFERENTIALLY OF SAID RIM AND DEFINING SERIALLY CONNECTED ARCUATE PEAKS AND ARCUATE VALLEYS ENGAGEABLE WITH PORTIONS OF SAID CLOTHES PROJECTED ABOVE AND OVER SAID GUARD BY SAID WASHING MOVEMENT OF SAID CLOTHES AND WATER BY SAID AGITATOR AND OPERABLE, UPON WASHING MOVEMENT OF SAID CLOTHES AND WATER IN SAID BASKET BY SAID AGITATOR, TO EFFECT MOVEMENT OF SAID CLOTHES PORTIONS DOWNWARDLY INTO SAID BASKET. 